‘I don’t know of any other operation that has these resources available,’ says hotel director and head chef Peter Niemann of his place of work. ‘We grow our own grains, fruit and nuts and use what the forest gives us. Such good fortune is rare in Germany.’ What specifically do the estate and the forest have to offer? ‘I could go on and on,’ he answers with a chuckle. Back in 2017, when he first saw the Hotel Hohenhaus with its castle and picturesque surroundings in Herleshausen in the German state of Hesse, he realised what potential was hidden here. Niemann wanted to work with the owners’ family to create a special place that had more to offer than just outstanding food. In addition to the restaurant Sushi & Family, the Hohenhaus Grill has a Michelin green star and the gourmet restaurant La Vallée Verte has earned a red star. The plan was to focus on sustainability.
Herbs and mushrooms from their own forest
‘The family that lets us use Hohenhaus has owned this property for over 100 years and they manage the forest,’ Niemann says. The estate draws its drinking water from 3 mineral water wells. Various types of grains and potatoes as well as fruit such as cherries and apricots are cultivated in the grounds. The kitchen uses wild herbs, berries and mushrooms from the forest. Hohenhaus maintains private hunting grounds where it employs hunters and raises ‘Braunes Bergschaf’ sheep, an endangered domestic breed. The restaurants do their part by offering the meat on their menus. ‘That makes the flock profitable and the estate can enlarge it,’ Niemann says. The number of animals has now doubled. Even though the resources were there, sustainability had to be redefined when he arrived at Hohenhaus. Using their own sheep rather than importing meat from Ireland, killing the animals in their own slaughterhouse and utilising them – ‘this was a process that took hard work to build up,’ the head chef says. ‘Today, the sheep travel 180 metres from the pasture to the slaughterhouse to the plate.’
Niemann can’t fulfil all his guests’ culinary desires, nor does he want to. ‘We don’t serve Easter lamb, for example,’ he admits. ‘It simply isn’t sustainable to slaughter such a young animal, and it goes against everything I believe.’ He describes his cuisine aptly as ‘honest, aromatic and authentic’. He basically takes his cues from what the fields and forests have to offer. ‘It’s important to me to be guided by nature in my work. I pay attention to what it can provide.’ There are fresh cherries from the estate 4 or 5 weeks a year, and the blackberries and raspberries from the forest also have their season. That’s why the berries, for example, are not picked until 3 p.m., when all the reservations are in, so that just enough for the registered guests are gathered.